For some months, I had noticed that my near three-year-old German shepherd had a lot of red in the whites of her eyes. She’d also been itching (rubbing sometimes with her left side, sometimes the right, over her eyes and nose) occasionally. Our Vet had said its probably just allergies. We live in the San Joaquin Valley of Northern California has plenty of agriculture, plenty of pollen, dust and other junk in the air.
Three weeks ago, though, I noticed a small, reddish (what looked like) a growth or sore of some kind on outside of Jade’s right eye (on the cornea-where the brown of the eye and the white meet). I made an appointment a couple days later with a new vet (mostly because he takes a pet discount program: Pet Assure which we’d just gotten).
Thankfully we'd spoken to several people who’d used this Vet and they had all been very happy with him. I was feeling more anxious (I’m sure) than my dog, Jade, was. It’s like taking your child to a new doctor, plus worrying that something serious could be wrong! The good news, though, is that this is a very good doctor with a good-sized practice. Both the Staff and the Vet were top-notch, handling Jade very well (she didn’t much like that Tail Lift to have her temperature taken, though). This has been a good lesson, too, for me to not put-off any check-ups (be it a people-Doctor or a Vet).
It turns out, though, that she has an eye-condition almost only found in German Shepherds. It’s called Pannus, and though it’s TREATABLE, there’s no cure.
Pannus (the medical name: keratitis superficialis vasulosa pannosa pigmentosa chronica) is a chronic inflammation of the corneal surface and, in most cases, of the conjunctiva of the eye. Also known as Keratitis Ueberreiter (named after the man who first described it). It’s found almost always in GDS and only rarely in other breeds. The symptoms show up in dogs three to five years old. My girl had just turned three this month.
What happens is that, as the disease progresses, pigment-forming cells move from the outer edges of the eye (like the spot I noticed). It begins to expand toward the center of the cornea (a gray-pink to variegated brown and black appearance). Without treatment, the inflammation progresses to cover the cornea and can lead to blindness. The corneal loses the transparency needed (because of these pigmented deposits) for sight. Once started, it generally affects both eyes. Sooner or later, a complete loss of sight occurs.
The drops the Vet prescribed for her eyes will have to continue for the rest of her life. But in just in one week, the redness has gone and it looks a lot better! It may well progress, as time goes on, but we’ll at least be aware and can give medication that will keep her with the best vision possible. Thankfully too, we found that we could order the eye-drops online, through our CareSaver program (which includes the PetAssure Vet savings). |
